I had a ball eating in Greece. I hadn’t eaten too much Greek food before visiting Greece, but realizing that the Greek cuisine pretty much consists of various forms of meat, I knew it would be a winner.

The next 9 or so days involved eating far more gyros than I’d like to admit. But when they taste that good and cost 2 euro (about AU$3.50!!), how could I pass it up???

The gyros in Greece (pronounced “iros” [… or something like that]) comprise your choice of meat, some salad, tzatziki and chips in a delicious pita bread. I always ordered the chicken, because, to my surprise, lamb gyros weren’t all that common in Greece. I had to leave out the tzatziki (because of the lactose), so it probably wasn’t quite as delicious as it otherwise would be, but it was still pretty darn good.

I found that wherever you went, the gyros were amazing. You don’t need to go to some fancy restaurant to get good food in Greece – and in fact, I think the less fancy, the more authentic.

The two best gyros I had in Mykonos were at Tropicana (surprisingly, given it is essentially a bar) and at Saki’s Grill House (which is known to be the best gyro in Mykonos). The Saki’s Grill gyros were huge and the pita bread, in particular, was to die for. I’d definitely recommend a visit! The Tropicana gyros tasted delicious and could be enjoyed while lounging on the beach soaking up the sun!

Tropicana

Saki’s Grill House

We also decided one night to splurge a little. The BF and I met up with 2 other friends and we went to a restaurant for a feast. Many of the restaurants offer these giant mixed plates to share between 2. We got chicken shashlik, chicken wings, sausages, hamburgers, pita, dips, chips and more. It was 26 euro for 2 people (about $38 for 2) which was pretty good value because we were popping afterwards! Apologies for the awful photos and, no, this wasn’t the full platter.

Our feast

Our feast

The thing I loved about this restaurant [and sorry I can’t remember the name], apart from the delicious and never-ending plate of food, was the ambiance. I remember it so clearly. You sit outdoors in the heat in a giant space cluttered full with tables, people, food and chatter. It was a hullabaloo, an organised chaos, an exciting pandemonium; it was wonderfully atmospheric.

Let me talk a bit about my allergies in Mykonos.

I don’t think that allergies are particularly common in Greece. Generally, when I gave my beautiful Greek nut translation sign, people thought I was a little bit crazy. I’d say that Greek people had a bit more of a blasé attitude towards allergies as compared to those in Italy and Spain, but that was possibly because of the nature of the food, in that there was probably no way that there would be nuts inside a gyro and therefore they thought I was crazy for asking. I wouldn’t say that they were careless about my allergies, but just that it wasn’t taken quite as seriously. I did, however, usually get a better response to my allergies when I was eating at hotel restaurants/bars (eg at Paradise Beach), where the staff are probably more accustomed to dealing with allergies.

This being said, however, I felt like I didn’t need to worry as much about my allergies because it was always pretty obvious what I was eating. You could see the gyro meat being cut off the spit in front of you, or you knew that you were eating plain meat without any sauce. There wasn’t anything snuck in there. I had also done a bit of research with my Greek friend, who gave me the low down, and so I knew that nuts are not particularly common in the Greek cuisine, but are quite common in Greek pastries/desserts (eg Baklava).

What I did love about Mykonos was that I got to enjoy dessert. Say what? OK well not dessert, per se, but let’s just call it that. You’ve all (hopefully) read about my disappointment in not being able to enjoy the exciting desserts in Spain and Italy, which generally consisted of nutty or potentially nutty delights. In Mykonos, when lying on the beach in the scorching sun, a delicious ice cream is exactly what one craves. Paradise Beach has a lovely little set up where you can get just about anything (there are restaurants, bars and also a little canteen-ey type place where you can get all sorts of snacks). I went to go look at what ice cream options they had and unfortunately faced a whole lot of gibberish (Greek) ingredients. Until I found the packaged Häagen-Dazs ice cream tubs – complete with English ingredients. Woohoo!

These were mini tubs and there were heaps of different options to choose from. Whilst there were 1 or 2 that contained nuts (but not peanuts), most of the flavours were nut free. The first one I had was crème brulee, which was beyond amazing. The ice cream had chunks of caramel inside, dripping with crème brulee sauce (which tasted a lot like real crème brulee). The second flavour I tried was the chocolate fondant. Wow was it good! It was chocolate ice cream with chunks of brownie, drenched in chocolate sauce. It was definitely worth cheating on the lactose intolerance front! Who needs an Italian hot chocolate or some sort of delicious Spanish pastry when you have Häagen-Dazs ice cream!? Ok I realise that for most non-Allergians, this isn’t all that exciting and it’s probably no comparison, but I’ll take what I can get.

For the vegetarians – I’m sure you would know to expect (almost) nothing but meat in Greece. There’s always the salad option though, and of course lots of cheese. Being an island, I’m pretty sure there were some fish/seafood dishes/restaurants on offer, but meat was the overwhelming majority.

For those allergic to dairy / the lactards – the Greek cuisine is full of dairy – between the tzatsiki, the halloumi, the Greek yoghurt and the feta, there’s plenty of it. That being said, however, it is easy to avoid these things and you can almost always leave the dairy out. There’s always something else to eat.

Some final words about Mykonos:

Ouzo. It’s the Greek specialty liqueur, more particularly, an anise-flavoured aperitif. AKA, if you don’t like liquorice, do not try this. My friends and I bought a bottle and were told to drink it 1 part ouzo, 3 parts water. I smelt the bottle and (as an avid liquorice-hater) could not bring myself to drink it [I think I was still scarred from the limoncello and grappa in Italy]. The far more daring 3 guys I was with took on the challenge and drank their shots of Ouzo and I got to enjoy the looks on their faces once they were downed. Classic!

I hope you’ve all read my previous post filled with restaurant and dessert recommendations in Rome. Definitely worth a visit!

Luckily for me, eating in Rome (and Italy in general) is pretty easy and my dietary restrictions aren’t so restrictive. But I do have some tips – hopefully I can share some wisdom about a range of dietary requirements.

Nuts:

I only had two real problems with nuts in Rome. The first, and really the most important problem, was my unfortunate, extremely dismal ability to part-take in (what many people would consider to be) the best part of every meal – dessert.

This really isn’t a Rome problem – it’s more of a global problem. Dessert just isn’t really that considerate of nut Allergians. I’m used to this though, so this wasn’t such a big disappointment. I did, however, get to enjoy a delicious crème brulee and some Lindt chocolate (see my post here), get to enjoy watching the BF try any and every delicious dessert imaginable (see my post here), and get to save on the calorie front. Really – it could be much worse.

The BF’s dessert adventures in Rome

The BF’s dessert adventures in Rome

Secondly, I faced a problem at the Vatican Museum. This was surprising really. After all that cultural and historical explosion that is the Vatican Museum, my friends, the BF and I were ready for a good feed. We went to the Vatican Museum food area, which kind of had a sort of canteen thang happening. It felt like a school cafeteria. Anyways, I asked the man behind the counter whether anything had nuts in it and, after checking, told me that I shouldn’t eat anything. I think there were lots of nuts used or something like that. While it is obviously pretty much impossible to find a kitchen that has zero nuts present, most places say something along the lines of ‘there may be traces present because our kitchen has nuts’. But when a place tells me not to eat their food, I will always listen. So that made things a little bit tricky, given we hadn’t finished the Museum. So I resorted to some packaged fruit salad and crisps, which seemed like the only safe options.

So just a warning to people with nut allergies going to the Vatican Museum – probably best to bring your own food. There also may have been a fancier restaurant somewhere in the museum – I’m not sure.

Lactose/dairy:

In Australia, whenever I order pasta of some kind, I ask for no cheese. This is because in Australia, pasta almost always comes served with parmesan cheese on top. And once your pasta has cheese on it, there is no way of getting it off. The melting and the stringing and the dispersing.. believe me – I’ve tried many a time.

But I quickly learnt in Italy that this whole cheese-on-top-of-the-pasta thing was an Australian (or international) invention, which did not originate in Italy. Sort of like the linguine thing (I didn’t find any linguine in Italy, so, again, this must be an international invention). So what would any ordinary person do… they would stop their silly request for “please no cheese on top”, because I had had enough funny looks from waiters [why is this extremely uncultured girl asking for no cheese on her pasta?].

But apparently the Italian status quo is a bit different in Rome. It was my second meal in Rome and I ordered pasta (with no cheese-less request). And what do you know – my pasta came out covered in cheese. It was quite unfortunate really. So I scraped it off as best I could (the melting… the stringing… the dispersing) and ate (what was left) around it.

What’s the moral of the story? Don’t be too embarrassed / think you are silly for asking questions relating to any of your dietary requirements or allergies. A funny look from a waiter is much better than only being able to eat ¼ of your food or, worse, a reaction of sorts.

Pork:

My dietary restrictions only faced one real problem in Italy – pork. There is heaps of pork used in Italy (which I do not eat) and it often features in my fave spaghetti bolognese. This meant that I always checked what meat was used before I ordered something. I had one hilarious exchange with a restaurant hostess near the (under renovation) Trevi Fountain. She didn’t speak very good English. I asked her the standard question and she didn’t understand what I was saying. After a few attempts, I had to resort to basics. Keep it stupid simple, so they say. I pointed at the spaghetti bolognese on the menu, said “moo moo” or “oink oink” and, whilst lifting my shoulders, held my hands out in the typical inquisitive stance. It really was an all time low in language barriers. She responded with “moo moo” (laughing hysterically, of course) and I enjoyed my pork-free bolognese.

Kosher:

Finally, for those who are Kosher (which I am not), there are quite a few Kosher restaurants in the Roman ghetto. When I visited the area, I ate at Nonna Betta which is supposedly one of the best. I ordered tagliolini with ragu and “Grandma betta’s sauce” and it was delicious! For a list of some other restaurants in the Roman ghetto, see here.

The meat menu at Nonna Betta

My meal at Nonna Betta

So it’s safe to say that there is something for everyone in Rome, and Italy in general. You’ll almost always be able to find something you can eat, which is a nice change for us Allergians (* cue the last resort search for a McDonalds, as occurs in some countries). And if you can’t – there’s always Queen’s Chips Amsterdam where you can get a massive serve of hot chips in a cone with one of a variety of sauces dripping all over it (see my previous excitement about this here).

Queen’s Chips Amsterdam

So that’s about all for Italy. Our next stop was the amazingly stunning Greek Islands! γιορτάζω!

This is by far my favourite dessert of all time. Given all my allergies, there aren’t too many delicious dessert options, so I’ve grown up eating my mum’s (Jackie’s) self-saucing hot chocolate pudding. And boy is it gooood. How can something that is nut free, dairy free and soy free taste so damn delicious? Go on, give it a try. It’s pretty easy to make too!

My birthday cake yesterday, made by my mum 🙂

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 cup self-raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

30 grams butter or margarine

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup soy milk / lactose free milk / cow’s milk / rice milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

¾ cup white sugar

Sauce:

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup cocoa

1¾ cup hot water

Instructions for cake:

Sift flour, salt and cocoa.

Add white sugar and mix well.

Stir in milk, vanilla and melted butter/margarine.

Mix until smooth.

Spread evenly into a greased dish.

Instructions for sauce:

Combine brown sugar and sifted cocoa.

Sprinkle over the top of the pudding.

Pour the hot water over the top (I usually add the water gradually as otherwise it often overflows – add a cup at first, and then once it’s been cooking for a while, add the rest).

Bake for 180° for approximately 50 minutes.

For reference, in the image above, this recipe was doubled and served about 6-8.

For all you dessert lovers out there, I hope you’ve read Part 1 of this post which discussed why my ability to enjoy desserts in Florence was less than successful, to my dismay. With all the Nutella served as a topping on waffles and crepes, the nut-flavoured gelatos, the peanut-coated gelato cones and the nutty chocolate goodies, nuts were everywhere in this sweeter side of Florence. Luckily I am sweet enough already. Oh, but the smell of waffles wafting through the air…. Torture.

I was desperate to try some gelato in Florence.

I am a huge ice cream fan. And Italy is famous for gelato.

No.1 ice cream fan + world’s best ice cream should = a perfect combo.

In Florence, I looked, without fail, at every single gelateria in the desperate (hopeless) attempt to find a place that didn’t have any nut flavours. Zilch. You can’t say I’m not determined!

But one day, we were recommended by a local to go to “THE BEST GELATO PLACE IN FLORENCE”. How could we resist? Gelateria della Passera. We were intrigued – a local’s recommendation must be good. It took us a while to find the place between our useless sense of direction and our inability to properly understand the local’s Italian pronunciation of street names. We eventually found it, funnily enough, right across the road from Quattro Leoni (where you can go enjoy the pear ravioli before treating yourself to some delicious gelato – see our previous post here).

We went inside and the BF ordered his gelato. They only had 6-8 flavours, and each was in a metal tub which you couldn’t see the contents of. I had been told that the best gelato places were the ones that didn’t have bright, colourful and overfilled gelato – these were just typical tourist traps. I watched the lady who was serving us very carefully take the spoon, scoop a flavour of gelato onto the cone and then put the spoon in the basin to be washed. She then took a new spoon, scooped the next flavour and put that in the basin too. We paid for the BF’s ice cream (really cheap too – what a bonus!) and went to sit in the lovely courtyard area while he enjoyed his gelato (and I enjoyed the sun).

After hearing him express his immense pleasure with this gelato (yeh yeh, I’m a super nice GF who allows him to gloat to me about all the treats I cannot enjoy), I began wondering – she had been so careful when serving it, but were they always so careful? They also had only 1 nut flavour (which wasn’t peanuts). With this glimmer of hope, the BF excitedly went to speak to the shopkeeper, who confirmed that they are always careful as they don’t like to mix the flavours (these were true Italians, taking pride in their gelato and not just seeking out tourists). She also said that she had brought out brand new tubs of gelato that morning so the entire tub had been treated by only her, in this careful manner. I took the plunge and ordered myself a vanilla and coffee gelato. I was nervous at first, but I knew that I was being neurotic since I had watched how careful she was. I enjoyed my drooool-worthy gelato and lived to tell the tale! And now I can even say that I got to taste gelato in Italy.

I also enjoyed a soft serve strawberry gelato at La Milkeria (near the Duomo). The BF enjoyed a waffle with white chocolate sauce (which I couldn’t eat because of the Nutella in the vicinity), but the ice cream was served out of a soft serve machine, so was free of cross-contamination risk. This was pretty tasty, but not as delicious as the more authentic gelato from Gelateria della Passera.

I had only one almost run-in with nuts (those sneaky buggers are just everywhere aren’t they). The BF and I were on the hunt for the best Italian hot chocolate. We had heard these were spectacular so, as people obsessed with chocolate (but really, who isn’t?), hunt we did. Unfortunately for us, these famed Italian hot chocolates don’t have much of a presence in summer. Why oh why? I never knew that chocolate (hot or cold) was season-dependent…

We managed to narrow down on a restaurant that was known for their delicious hot chocolates – Rivoire on Palazza Vecchio. And YAY they were serving them in summer. We got a table outside to soak up some sun, looking forward to resting our feet after wayyy too much walking. We both ordered Italian hot chocolates and I told the waiter about my allergy. He responded telling me that I couldn’t have the hot chocolate because it contained “gianduja”. I had never heard of this before. While people do often mistakenly categorise something as an allergen (a common one being sesame, or my weird bean story), chocolate was more likely to contain nuts so I didn’t take the risk.

Believe it or not, gianduja does contain nuts – it is, in fact, a chocolate spread made with hazelnut paste! I guess you learn something new every day (and definitely something in each new city you visit).

I spontaneously made the decision to order a coke zero instead. It tasted mighty fine (though not as fine as the apparently AMAYYYYZING hot chocolate that the BF enjoyed), ice cold and quenched my thirst on the hot summer’s day. Until I got the bill. I knew that you paid a premium for sitting down at restaurants in Italy, especially on the main square. But $9 AUD for a 330 mL of coke was beyooond. In conclusion: Rivoire – definitely worth a visit for the Italian hot chocolates (if you are not allergic to nuts) and the atmosphere, but less so for the coke zero!

Ironically, the only Italian hot chocolate I got to enjoy on this trip was in Paris. Our daily breakfast bakery – Paul’s – served a to-die-for Italian hot chocolate that was made by them and was entirely nut free. I had this a couple of times (I had to restrain myself due to the lactose), so it sort of kinda almost made up for the lack-of in Italy.

A few other tips for travelling to Florence with a nut allergy:

As amazing as the desserts may be, they aren’t worth risking your life over. Make sure you are confident that a place is free of the risk of cross-contamination and that servers/waiters understand your allergy. I felt that the Italians generally had quite a good understanding of allergies, but be sure to judge each situation independently. You are likely to come across restaurants or shops that are safe enough for you to enjoy a few treats. If you are comfortable, then enjoy away!

Don’t just assume that you won’t be able to enjoy anything – be sure to ask, because you never know what you might be able to enjoy!

Force feed your travel partner any dessert that you like the look of, just so you can enjoy it by way of your other senses which, while not nearly as good, is better than nothing 😉

If you are travelling with young children, it can be difficult for them to miss out on those treats that they are eyeing or that others around them are enjoying. The good news is that there are a few options:

There are quite a few restaurants/cafes that serve slurpee/granita drinks that are a nice dessert option and I would decide are safe from an allergy perspective as they are pretty much free of cross-contamination risks (separate machine, aren’t served with hands etc).

If you want to treat your child, take them to a store where they can buy some packaged Italian treats. I particularly liked Alessi Bottiglieria (near the Duomo), which stocks candy, delicious Italian chocolate, hot chocolate sachets, biscuits and every other treat imaginable (predominantly with English ingredients). This way, your child can choose something they like and won’t miss out, and you can feel comfortable at the same time!

In summary, Florence pretty much balances itself out – what we can’t eat by way of desserts, we can enjoy by way of meals. I think that it’s probably much harder to make pasta of the same quality as you may find in Italy, than it would be to make delicious waffles or crepes at home. So be an optimist and enjoy the fact that you can enjoy great Italian food, almost completely worry-free!

My travels throughout South East Asia, the US and Europe have definitely shown me one thing… The Melbourne coffee scene is one of a kind. We have the whole thing down pat. Melbournians love their coffee. We also love brunch. And Instagramming photos of food. And we know how to make great coffee (something I definitely can’t say for most of the rest of the world).

Like our multicultured society, our café scene is extremely diverse and has something for everyone. We have the standard, the quirky, the organic, the upmarket…

I am a coffee lover. Before I had ever sipped a coffee, at a young age I had decided I would be a coffee drinker. With a dad passionate about drinking, and making, coffee, I was always so destined. I certainly wouldn’t have made it through 5 and a half years of law school without coffee. We have a great quality coffee machine at home that I have mastered. Tragically, when I developed a lactose intolerance in year 11, it obviously got much more difficult to enjoy coffee when out and about. Until I discovered LF milk makes great coffee, which I could use at home. I couldn’t bear the taste of soy milk, especially not with coffee!

It is for this reason that I am ecstatic that in recent times, Melbourne cafes have fine-tuned the coffee scene so that it is better suited to the #foodie trend and fad diets such as GF. For the most part. I do have some pet peeves and concerns I’d like to share!

Milk options

I love this. Many cafes have (somewhat surprisingly) stocked soy milk as an alternative to cow’s milk for years. But only in the past couple of years has the entrance of other milk choices become a thing.

Almond milk and (occasionally) hazelnut milk are milk options often offered in cafes. I can’t say that this is an exciting trend for this Allergian, and see point 2 in relation to this.

More importantly, I am now starting to see the very-much-welcomed-by-me lactose free (LF) milk served in cafes! This is music to my ears! And my coffee. A Google search of Melbourne cafes serving LF milk failed to find any results so I’ll share with you a few of my fave cafes that serve LF milk. I’d love to hear from readers about your own LF milk spottings throughout Melbourne!

Loco in Elsternwick has been serving Zymil (one of the main brands of LF milk in Australia) for a couple of years. One customer used to keep her own bottle of Zymil in the fridge for when she came to have coffee. When other lactard customers saw the Zymil, they naturally excitedly asked for it so Loco began to stock it! What a win!

The café that I visit on my way to work in the morning, Bull Run in the CBD, also serves Zymil. This café has a vibrant, charismatic take away coffee stand out the front, which offers a range of milk options, with music pumping in the morning.

I have also discovered LF milk at the Attic café in the CBD and Rupert & the Fig in Brighton.

Needless to say, as great as this is – there are just not enough!! With soy milk such a staple at cafes, I am really hoping that LF milk raises to this standard. I would expect that there is enough of a demand for it. Zymil and Liddells’ LF milk are available in long-life, and customers would be willing to pay extra or drive further for this option!

Cafes are also beginning to offer further milk varieties, such as coconut milk and/or rice milk. Whilst both good options, they are likely to have a bigger impact on the taste of the coffee, which many coffee-lovers would argue is inexcusable! LF milk tastes just like cow’s milk, only it is a bit sweeter.

Cross-contamination

The availability of all these different milk options is both a blessing and a curse for me. It’s great to be able to go to a café and order my weak cappuccino with LF milk. But with this blessing also comes the curse of almond milk (and other nut milks).

For those of us with nut allergies, this can be a really big problem. I hadn’t really thought about this until I went to a particular cafe and discovered they served Zymil when I saw it sitting alongside the cow’s milk, the rice milk and the almond milk. As I was standing there watching their incredibly-efficient 3 person coffee-making arrangement that they’ve got going on, I thought about the risk of cross-contamination due to use of almond milk during the busy morning coffee rush. I let them know about my allergy and they ensured me that they would be careful.

But I think it is important that:

a) cafes be really careful with the use of almond milk. They should take precautions to ensure that there is no risk of cross-contamination e.g. the consistent use of different milk jugs for different milk varieties, cleaning the frothing stick properly between uses (with a fresh cloth where almond milk has been used), using different spoons to stir the coffee, no milk mix-up etc. This issue really also applies where a cow’s milk Allergian orders soy milk (see my next post on this point).

b) It is obvs our responsibility as Allergians to alert a coffee shop to our allergy if there is a form of nut milk on the menu.